Troll Hunter

A trio of Norwegian film students set out to film a documentary about a rogue bear hunter but in chasing him around Norway, find he hunts something rather larger.

Filmed documentary style a convincing cast beautifully capture an amateur feel to the documentary filming. The troll Hunter is especially convincing as a grizzly old man fed up with his job.

The Norwegian troll myths are used to bring depth and variety to the trolley themselves, often seen and brilliantly realised but not so heavily that plot paradox or keeping up become a problem.

Norway is heavily travelled in the film so it does feel very much troll Hunter, not troll hunted and this is perhaps the surprise of the film. Scenes where you would expect tension typically undermine themselves with a witty remark that has everyone laughing. A really fun entertaining film if you can find it on DVD.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2

It all ends says the poster's tag line and so it does. With much wand waving and spell casting, and an occasional heart string tugged at. It's spectacular to watch and while the tone is darker in the latter films, they still come over essentially as a merry romp. As 8 films spanning a decade with consistantly high production values they are a significant part of recent film history but I'm surprised by the casts dismay at the lack of non-technical awards nods because for all the box office receipts, there is nothing individually stand out. This is a good thing in a series that heavily relies on ensemble casts sub almost every working British actor found here somewhere but there is no insult in saying the whole works, but not because of one performance.

The Tree Of Life

Terrence Malick muses on life, death, grace, nature and our place in the universe by showing us two children growing up. It's beautiful to look at but the constantly shifting camera and edits make you feel like you're suffering from ADD. I spent the film feeling like something important was about to happen but nothing ever did. It was artful and considered in a way I wish more films were so I despaired that I was so incredibly bored that for the first time in over a decade I strongly considered leaving win the half of the audience that did. This one is only for the insomniacs.